After getting settled into our new home, we were anxious to get our flock built up again. A little too anxious I think:( We found a lady who was selling 15 laying hens so we negotiated her down to what we felt was a reasonable price. We actually ended up with 16. On the drive home, which was about 45 minutes, our van had a stench that was almost unbearable. Once we got home and were unloading them, we noticed most all of them were making a gurgling noise. Within a couple of hours of being home, we had lost two hens, and by that evening, we had lost a third. Not knowing any better, we summed it up as being too hot. The heat index was 116 that day. It must have been the the sudden change in temperature from the van to the outside. I even contacted the lady to see if she had lost any of her flock. Of course she hadn't and even offered to take these back if we were not satisfied. Well, I should have took her up on that! We have now lost a total of 4 from this flock. I haven't even mentioned that several of them had/have mites on their poor little feet. They look like a deranged monster's claw with the raised scales and all. We have been treating them by dipping their feet in a mixture of canola and tea tree oil and it is working. There are several hens who are still gurgling and I have now learned that it is probably a respiratory problem, which unfortunately, is contagious. A couple of our other chickens have developed symptoms. Soooo, as sad as it is and as much as I love our chickens, today we will be culling a number of the hens :(((
This has been a costly mistake! One that we hope will not be repeated. In trying to make lemonade out of lemons, we have learned quite a bit from this experience. We now know signs and symptoms for respiratory infected birds and how to treat mites on their feet. And the biggest thing of all, which we already knew but disregarded, was mixing the new birds in with our existing flock right away. We should have quarantined them for a couple of days :( Valuable and not such a pleasant lesson to learn.
OH wow this was a traumatic set of events when you add it all up! I am sure I would've fallen into the same situation had I been in your shoes at the time. I'm sorry for your losses, but you know, on the other hand those birds you have are blessed by you - you probably saved their lives, even if some were lost. I am so sorry you may lose some of your original flock too. How devastating for the heart as well as the budget. I imagine these lessons will serve you well into the future- and that's one thing that many of us carry-valuable lessons learned the hard way.
ReplyDeleteI've had my flock almost 1 year now (given to me going on their 3rd year), and I am just now getting the knowledge of first-aid and 'conditions' to look for and how to treat, so I appreciate knowing how you treated the mite infection with that mixture of canola and tea tree oil. Would you mind elaborating on that some time?
I think you're right that the heat probably affected them adversely (not sure how exactly but it sounds suspiciously right). I just learned that you can not only 'dip' chickens to cool them off, but actually give chickens baths and blow-dry them, and trim toe nails and rooster spurs... geez I feel like I could "have a V-8"- you know, knock myself upside the head, right?
This is an enriching but long journey of education! Thank you for sharing.
We have had our chickens for about four years now and we never had any problems with mites or other health issues for that matter. I truly believe if you keep the coop and surrounding areas clean, provide plenty of fresh water, and of course treats, your flock will remain healthy and happy.
ReplyDeleteWe were so excited about building up our flock that we let our guard down with these chickens. When I realized just how bad their feet were, my heart ached for them. I immediately started researching what I could do. My first resource is always Backyard Chickens. There is a wealth of knowledge on that site. When it comes to mites, you basically want to suffocate them. There were many recommendations, some not so humane, however the common theme seamed to call for tea tree oil mixed with something. I happened to have canola oil so that became my mixture of choice. Call me weird, but I sort of like the smell of the tea tree oil. It reminds me of vicks vapor rub. I used a round container that was about four inch in diameter and about six inches deep. I had someone in our family to hold the chicken and I would dip one leg at a time into the mixture for about 15 seconds. The mixture seemed to be thick enough to suffocate the mites but not too thick to grab everything it came in contact with like vaseline would. I hope this explains it a little better. I have some photos and I will try to blog about it at a later date.